


jedi mind tricks

by memitims



Series: assorted alternate universes [4]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dogs, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-11
Updated: 2014-09-11
Packaged: 2018-02-17 00:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2290676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memitims/pseuds/memitims
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ian lives in new york and has an adorable corgi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	jedi mind tricks

**Author's Note:**

> ohmygod i live in manhattan and i know nothing about central park. i'm a failure. sorry!!!
> 
> inspired by [this](http://puppetamateur.tumblr.com/post/93292699757/okay-but-consider-these-oh-my-god-im-so-sorry-my) post ('oh my god im so sorry my dog usually doesnt jump up on people like this i have no idea what their deal is but also hey there')

Ian was pretty fucking lucky. He’d found a cheap apartment within walking distance of Central Park, which was pretty much impossible, but an old friend had called him out of the blue saying that he knew of one, and it had actually worked out. His old apartment had been run down and nowhere near any big city parks, and that meant his poor dog could only go for walks on the boring city streets.

He had a little Corgi named Jedi, because he’d made the mistake of asking Carl for help naming her when he was going through a Star Wars phase, but it just seemed to fit her somehow. Ian had spent a lot of time training her as a puppy, he’d gone to the classes and worked with her whenever he had the time, and she was cute and energetic and well-behaved and Ian loved her more than anything.

“You wanna go to the big park?” he asked her, and her ears perked up, because she loved hearing Ian’s voice and she loved going for walks and Ian always felt kinda dumb about talking to her, especially when they were alone in the apartment, but he decided that it wasn’t weird. Everyone talked to their dogs.

“Yeah, we love the big park,” he continued, grabbing Jedi’s leash and hooking it through her collar. She squirmed and panted a little when he pulled the collar tighter, because she was so fuckin’ dramatic. Debbie had told him that Jedi learned it from him. Whatever.

Ian pocketed some dog treats and a couple of plastic bags and headed out the door. Jedi was even more enthusiastic this morning than ever, and she practically pulled Ian down the block. She was small, but strong, and sometimes it was all Ian could do not to let her pull his arm out of his socket.

“Chill,” he called to her, yanking gently on her leash. “Heel.”

She did as she was told and stepped into place besides Ian, and they made their way down the sidewalk towards Central Park. It was the end of August, so the humidity was still unbearable, the sidewalks were scorching hot and the air heavy. Ian was almost missing the cold Chicago winters of his childhood.

They rounded the corner and went in the E 90th street entrance, following the trail along the river for a while before cutting through the empty softball fields towards the statue of Alexander Hamilton. Jedi stopped to pee on the grass and Ian stood there, waiting patiently, before he was abruptly yanked forward as soon as she was done. She tore across the lawn, dragging Ian along behind her, and she almost ran straight into a dark-haired stranger. Jedi didn’t bark at him, thank god, but she did jump on him, with her short little legs, wagging her tail like crazy.

Ian was completely embarrassed. He’d thought he trained her not to jump on random strangers, but there must have still been a little bit of puppy left in her.

“Jedi!” he yelled, tugging on her leash to get her to calm down. “Shit,” he said to the guy. “I’m so sorry. She isn’t usually like this.”

The guy laughed quietly, and Ian couldn’t help but notice that it sounded a little rusty, like this guy didn’t get a chance to laugh very often. Ian finally looked up at his face, and he gave him a thin smile before bending down to physically pull Jedi away. She could be very persistent when she wanted.

Ian looked back towards the stranger. He was a bit shorter than Ian but definitely around Ian’s age, with slicked-back dark hair and expressive eyebrows, which were currently raised towards the sky as he stared down at Jedi. He was pretty cute actually, despite being half-terrifying, and his face softened when Ian apologized again.

“Don’t fucking worry about it.” He looked away from Jedi and his eyes caught on Ian, and Ian definitely noticed the way his eyes snapped up and down Ian’s body before coming back to rest on his face. “Is your dog seriously named  _Jedi_? You some kind of nerd?”

Ian crossed his arms over his chest, looping Jedi’s leash around his wrist a few times to keep her in place. “You got a problem with that, buddy?”

“Mickey,” the guy said.

“What?”

“My name’s Mickey. And I don’t have a fucking problem,  _jesus_. Just wanted to know why your dog was named Jedi.”

Ian rolled his eyes. “My little brother named her.” He held out his hand, the one not wrapped up in Jedi’s leash. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ian. I’m really sorry about the whole psycho dog thing.” Mickey took his hand and shook it, his fingers warm where they laced around Ian’s. Ian could feel his whole face go a little warm, but he didn’t let it bother him. He didn’t usually get this flustered around cute guys, especially ones he had just met, but something about Mickey made his heart beat a little too fast in his chest.

“She’s not that bad,” Mickey said, reaching down to pat Jedi’s head a few times. “Isn’t that right, Jedi?”

She wagged her tail furiously and stood on Mickey’s feet, rubbing her back against the bottom of his legs. Ian grinned down at both of them.

“You talk to dogs?” he teased, like he hadn’t been doing just that less than an hour ago.

Mickey scoffed. “Oh, like you don’t? Please. You probably come home and tell her everything about your day. You seem like the type, Ian.”

Ian didn’t deny it. “What? Would that be weird?”

Mickey stood up and laughed again, short and quiet, but Ian clung onto the sound. He watched the way Mickey’s mouth moved around the laugh. “Pretty fuckin’ weird.”

“I guess I’m weird.” Ian shrugged and smiled at Mickey, and they stood there for a couple beats too long, staring at each other with half-concealed smiles on their faces. Ian was pretty sure they were flirting, because he stopped and talked to lots of random strangers in the park all the time, and it never went anything like this.

Mickey coughed and broke their eye contact. He looked down at Jedi and swallowed a few times, obviously working up the nerve to say something. Ian tilted his head, waiting for him to say something.

“Mind if I, um, join you on the rest of your walk?”

“Sure,” Ian said. “But not until you give me your number. And you have to hold Jedi’s leash.”

“Sounds fair.”

They swapped cell phones and put their numbers in, and Ian entered his name in all caps so that Mickey could find it easily. Mickey laughed when he saw what Ian did. Ian pressed Jedi’s leash into Mickey’s palm, brushing their hands together for longer than necessary. Mickey took it and the started off down the path, locking into stride next to one another, their shoulders practically touching.

“Wanna get ice cream after this?” Ian asked. He watched Mickey smile out of the corner of his eye.

“Sure.”

(Jedi had puppies two years later. Mickey - because  _he_  was actually the total nerd - insisted on naming them all after Star Wars characters, to keep up the tradition. Carl, despite having left his Star Wars obsession in the past, was extremely pleased. Fiona let him and Debbie take Chewbacca back home to Chicago.

They bought their own apartment three years later, still close to Central Park, after spending months trying to find the right place. They fought and they argued and they made up, and it all worked out okay.

Five years later, Ian and Mickey got married in front of a small crowd on a warm summer day, and they said their vows in the middle of a beautiful stretch of grass in Central Park and they kissed under the nearby shadow of a giant elm. Jedi was the guest of honor.)


End file.
